NEW DELHI: Dream 11 IPL has started with a bang as the much awaited tournament clocked over 269 million viewers in its opening week, as per the BARC Nielsen data. The tournament clocked over 60.6 billion viewing minutes across seven matches and 21 channels.

The viewership, this year, was higher despite one less match played in the opening week and also the tournament was showcased on fewer channels in comparison to 2019. As per the data, there are 21 TV channels presenting IPL in 2020 in comparison to 24 channels that showcased the matches in 2019.

Interestingly, in 2020, the tournament also witnessed 15 per cent growth in the viewing minutes over 2019. There is also a growth of cumulative reach of one percent and 21 per cent growth in average impressions per match. In 2019, there were 32.2 million impressions per match whereas 2020 clocked 39 million impressions per week.

Match 1 (Mumbai Indians vs CSK) clocked 11.2 billion viewing minutes along with 52 million impressions and a cumulative reach of 158 million. All the three parameters performed better than the last year as there was a growth of 65 per cent in viewing minutes, 29 per cent in average impressions and 21 per cent in cumulative reach.

Match 2-7 clocked an average of seven billion viewing minutes with each match garnering at least 34 million impressions and a minimum of 100 million cumulative reach.

44 per cent of the television households watched the game live with over 57 per cent of male audience in it. The data indicates that there were over 11 million more viewers per match when compared to the last year.

Interestingly, the total advertising volume for IPL 2020 opening week was 15 per cent higher than the last year. There was a significant increase of 19 and 22 per cent in the advertiser and the brand count.

And finally, on the OTT front, the overall user base saw a growth of 32 per cent. Disney + Hotstar user base grew by 99 per cent during this time and fantasy sport apps also witnessed a surge of nearly 80 per cent. The smartphone usage and video streaming went up by 8 and 13 per cent during this period.